


A Good Deal

by JustAndrea



Series: Mikey, Michika and Hueso Jr Stories [4]
Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Food, Friendship, Gen, Haggling/Shopping, Water Guns, subtle crushing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:40:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28554027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAndrea/pseuds/JustAndrea
Summary: Whether it's supporting him as he's trying to get the best prices for ingredients or supporting a crush that he may not even fully realize is there yet, Leonardo will always be there to support his youngest brother in any situation.(A quick oneshot featuring Leo, Mikey and Michika.)
Relationships: Leonardo & Michelangelo (TMNT), Michelangelo (TMNT) & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Mikey, Michika and Hueso Jr Stories [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1823638
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	A Good Deal

**Author's Note:**

> Randomly thought of this last night, ended up typing it all out when I had some free time. I'm... kinda surprised at just how easy it was for me to write this given, but hey, I'm not complaining! Also I missed my girl, Michi, so I'm glad I could write something quick and fun about her, Mikey and Leo. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy! ^v^

Mikey hummed as he stared at the piece of tofu set before him. He looked at it, then up at the man in charge of the stall, then back down at the tofu. “Ehhhh, I still think we could go lower.”

The man - a stout and grumpy-looking cyclops in a straw hat - huffed. “You’re killing me here, kid. I’m not going any lower than eight silver coins.”

Mikey’s eyes narrowed a bit as he stood up straight. “Oh come on, that’s at least four more coins than what other stalls are offering! You trying to rip us off?” he asked, mustering up a scowl. Given that he was just shy of fourteen with a face that still had a bit of baby fat on it, it wasn’t as threatening as he might have hoped. The set of nunchucks on his belt, however, did give the man pause.

But before the box turtle could even try to use them, his brother gently pulled him to the side. “I got this, Mike,” Leo insisted before strolling up to the stall’s counter, smiling politely. “You’ll have to excuse my brother, he can get just a bit intense when it comes to his cooking, and he’s just been _dying_ to try this new tofu recipe. But hey, that’s no excuse for being rude.”

“Indeed,” the cyclops huffed. Mikey hmph’d at that, crossing his arms a bit but not saying anything else.

“Clearly, if we want something a little more in our budget, we’ll have to just go somewhere else,” Leo said coolly, already beginning to turn away, “Kinda sucks though, ‘cause we heard you had the best tofu in all of the Hidden City. But hey, I’m sure someone else will appreciate our five silver coins, right?”

With that, Leo put a hand on Mikey’s shell and began to lead him away. _Three… Two… One…_

“Hey, wait up, kid.” The two brothers shared a smile before turning around, putting their game faces back on. “...Okay. I’ll go down to six silver coins,” the cyclops said, “But that’s all!”

“...And a free tote bag?”

“...Fine.”

Leo grinned. “You’ve got yourself a deal!” Mikey had also brightened up considerably as he dug out his coin bag, placing six shiny coins onto the counter as the yokai wrapped up his tofu. “Pleasure doing business with you, my good sir!”

“Yeah, thanks! And if your tofu’s just as great as you say it is, I’ll be sure to spread the word to my chef friends!” Mikey promised, giving a small wave as he and Leo walked away. At the very least, the cyclops’ scowl seemed to soften a bit at the idea of gaining new, regular customers to his little tofu stall.

“You know,” Leo said as he admired the new tote bag on his shoulder, liking how soft it was as well as the greenish-yellow color that went well with his stripes, “I probably could have still talked him down to five silvers and two bronze.”

“I know,” Mikey said, his own tie-dyed, pen-doodle and button-covered bag bouncing a bit as he walked, “But after all that money we saved on static-sesame oil and underground veggies, I was cool with giving him six, but thanks anyway.” 

Leo nodded, holding out a fist, which Mikey gladly bumped. When it came to their little good cop/bad cop haggling routine, Mikey knew there was no better haggling partner than Leo. 

Raph was just too nice when it came to anyone who wasn’t a straight-up enemy, and Donnie always got WAY too into his role. April was a bit better than them, but between his talking skills and his charm that just barely straddled the line between effective and annoying, Leo really was the best for the job.

As the duo walked out of the farmer’s market, Mikey waved Michika - who was playing with the fidget toy Hueso Jr. had given her a while ago - over to them. “Hey, we’re done!”

“Took you long enough, Mikaboo,” Michi said, smiling as she pocketed the toy. Though she was willing to show them where the best markets in the city were, she stopped herself from going in. Given that she was banned from the place (though that rarely ever stopped her), Michi just figured they’d have an easier time without her being there to ignite any of the stall owners’ old grudges against her.

“So, you get anything good?” she asked, already reaching for his bag. Mikey pulled it away, and Michi stuck her tongue out at him.

“Heh, yeah, we got a TON of great stuff,” Mikey replied, “Tofu, tons of veggies, some of the mystic spices that Banji and Roger told me about, and even some fresh meat! I think he said it was cockatrice? I’ve never tried it but still - do you know how rare it is for us to get meat that’s this fresh?”

“I thought you said you guys could still shop at human stores as long as you wore disguises and either went super early or super late?” Michi asked, “Can’t you buy meat there?”

“Ehhhh, yeah but we can still really only afford to go to the cheaper grocery stores,” Leo told her. 

“Right, which means their stuff is always frozen and prepackaged,” Mikey added, “Any store with a high-quality deli or a top-notch butcher’s station was wayyyy out of our budget.” All the more reason, he supposed, to love the unspoken “everybody haggles” rule of the Hidden City market places.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he continued, “I’m grateful that we’re able to buy any food at all-” They could all still faintly remember the days where their pop had to go dumpster diving or get all their food from dollar stores and cheap bodegas whenever they managed to save up enough. “But this?” Mikey’s eyes practically sparkled as he hugged his bag to his chest. “This is gonna taste AMAZING!”

“...Heh.” Michi smiled at her best friend. Though she could certainly appreciate how delicious his food was, she didn’t always get his desire to make the best meal he could. 

For the most part, food was just food to her, and although Michi naturally had her favorites like cucumbers and soggy french fries, she was also happy with pretty much anything that she could get her webbed hands on, not always focusing on taste too much and only on how much it could fill her up.

But Mikey… He saw food as more than just a survival tool. He saw it as another medium for art, and as something that - with the right spice blend and enough heart put into it - could truly make people happy. And seeing that happiness and excitement from him at something as simple as fresh meat and mystic spices, well… It made the extra effort of helping him for free seem all the more worth it.

“In that case, you better get that meat back up top before it spoils, unless you’re just as good with eating that as you are with eating it fresh,” Michi spoke up.

“Don’t worry, Draxum gave me a couple self-cooling ice packs before we came down here, so the meat should be good for a little bit at least,” Mikey told her as he reached into his bag, “But we should still get going… Good thing you can walk and talk.”

He suddenly threw something at her, which Michi easily caught. Once she realized what it was, her own eyes widened as her beak broke into a grin. Not only did he get her a bag of pickled cucumber slices, but also a small bag of homemade caramel popcorn. “Call it a thanks for showin’ me where this place was,” Mikey told her.

“Didn’t you thank me for that the first time I took you to a market?” Michi raised an eyebrow, remembering the cucumber and apple-slice roll-ups he had bought her that day.

“No rule sayin’ I can’t say thank you more than once!” he retorted with a bit of a goofy grin that made her giggle.

“Should’ve expected that from a goody-goody like you, heh. Still - you really are my favorite, you know that?”

“Oh? What about Junior?”

“Eh, I’m pretty sure you’re his favorite too, which I can’t really blame him for.” With her snacks in one arm, she used her other arm to pull him into a one-armed hug, the two of them now cheek-to-cheek. 

She hadn’t asked him for anything in return for guiding them there. She _trusted_ Mikey enough to not ask him for anything in return, knowing that he wouldn’t take advantage of her help, and he got her something anyway because he cared. “...Thanks, Mikey,” Michi said quietly.

Mikey chuckled, feeling his own heart warm a bit as he loosely returned the hug. “Aww, you’re welcome, Chi. I’m- AH!” He felt himself get pulled back by a tug on his mask tails as Michi moved out of his grip, laughing as she began to run.

“Race you to the surface, Orange Spice!”

“Hey!” Mikey shouted, only pouting for a split second before running to catch up with her and laughing along with her as they tried to shove each other. “You’re goin’ down, Michi!”

As they ran off, Leo stood with a soft smile of his own, not minding that he had been temporarily forgotten. As nice as it was hanging out with his little bro and going on their own fun mini-missions/grocery trips together, it was also just as nice seeing have that same amount of fun with a friend who clearly cared about Mikey just as much as he did.

(His own intuitions still told him that there was a chance that this was more than just friendship, or that it had the potential to grow into something more than friendship. He often got the same feeling whenever he saw Mikey and Hueso Jr. hanging out. The vibe was subtle, but it was there. Mikey hadn’t said anything yet though, about either of his best friends, and as much as he wanted to prove he was right, Leo decided not to say anything either. Mikey was still pretty young, and it was his business anyway. Furthermore, Leo knew that when/if that time ever came, he’d be one of the first people Mikey told, which in itself was a pretty great feeling.)

Still, as the two young teens continued to race ahead without a care in the world, Leo figured he should do the responsible big brother thing and go catch up with them, lest they get lost in a crowd and completely leave him behind, forcing to find his own way home.

 _...Orrrrrrrr-_ Quickly making sure there were no dragons, phoenixes or simurghs flying above him, Leo grabbed one of his katanas, brought his arm back, and- “YEET!” threw the sword as far as he could, far ahead of his brother in orange and his kappa friend.

Feeling the spark of Hamato Essence in his chest, Leo grabbed the handle of his second sword, and allowed his body to briefly become pure energy as he teleported over to his still-falling blade, catching it before it could hit the ground. 

As Leo started running, he laughed as he heard Mikey squawk, yelling something about him being a dirty cheater. “What can I say, Miguel?” Leo said over his shoulder, “Don’t hate the player, hate the ga-BLARG!” A gush of cold, slightly nasty-tasting water was shot into his mouth, catching him off-guard enough to make him stumble and fall.

“What was that you were saying?” Michika asked, finger still on the pink-colored plastic trigger of her water gun while Mikey cackled, nearly tripping himself due to how hard he was laughing.

“Ugh,” Leo grumbled. In the moment it took him to spit out any remaining water and wipe his face, the two friends ran past him with ease. Of course, it’d take more than that for Leo to lose race. “Okay, let’s see just how big you talk I take that gun of yours!” as he got back onto his feet, breaking into another sprint.

“I’d like to see you try!” Michi called back as Mikey laughed again. A few passing yokai yelled at them to slow down, and they even nearly ran into a pair of officers that probably would’ve chased them to the nearest surface portal if not for Mikey and his ‘chucks offering them all a quick means of escape to rooftops above the cops. 

But, even if they had ended up nearly getting chased and possibly arrested (again), all three of them had a feeling that it still wouldn’t have done much to ruin their good mood.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

“Hey, Leon?”

“Hmm?” Leo looked behind him, his arms still in the sink. Even if he was still in the middle of washing dishes (Mikey never had to clean on the nights he cooked, and Leo had lost Rock-Paper-Scissors), he still took a moment to offer his orange brother a smile. “Hey, Mike. S’up?”

“Eh, nothing much,” Mikey shrugged, sitting down at the table, “Just thought I’d hang here while you were finishing up.” Even through the lemon-scented suds, Mikey could still smell that night’s supper on the soaking pots, pans and plates. He smiled a little, licking his lips at the memory. 

The ingredients he and Leo had haggled for were just as delicious as he had hoped. His father, brothers, April and Michi had all told him so, as well, which frankly just made them taste even better. He’d definitely have to save up his tips to get more of that cockatrice meat some time soon - and he would _absolutely_ go back to that tofu-cyclops guy and buy as much tofu as he could get his hands on.

“...I wonder if you could put tofu on a pizza,” he mused aloud.

Leo paused mid-scrub. “...Wait, what?”

Mikey shrugged. “I could make it work. Maybe.”

“Well, if anyone could, it’d probably be you,” Leo smirked. Besides, after trying the greatness that was Mayo Jaga pizza, Leo was willing to give any and all toppings a fair shot.

“Heh, thanks Leo,” Mikey smiled, yawning a bit as he leaned on the table slightly.

“So hey, if you wanna go to the market with just Michika next time, it’s cool with me.” Mikey blinked. Sitting back up, he gave Leo a look. 

“Or if you wanna go with Junior, or both of them, that’s fine too,” Leo continued, giving Mikey a nod, “Totally cool with me.”

“What are you talking about?” Mikey asked, “What, do you not wanna go to Hidden City farmer’s markets anymore or-?”

“No, I still- Look, I’m just saying, you have the option to take someone else if you want to,” Leo told him, “No offense taken.”

While the feelings-focused side of him could appreciate the open communication, Mikey still nearly rolled his eyes at his blue brother. “Okay, first off: Dude, Michi’s banned from, like, every market in the Hidden City, remember?”

“...” If not for the soap bubbles still on his hands, Leo would’ve facepalmed at that.

“And second: I don’t wanna take them. And if I did, I’d still bring you along with us,” Mikey continued, “Looking around farmer’s markets and haggling for ingredients is _our_ thing.” He then smiled. “And I like it being our thing.”

“...Yeah,” Leo smiled, “Our thing. Alright.” With that settled, Mikey walked over to give him a quick hug - quick enough so that Leo couldn’t try to hug him back as a joke and get his pajama shirt all wet. 

Once the sink was mostly empty and Leo’s hands were rinsed and dried, the two walked off towards another one of their ‘things’ - the air hockey table in the arcade - figuring a quick game or two would help tire them out for bed.

“...What do you think of Michi anyway?” Mikey asked as they were walking.

“Hm? She’s pretty cool,” Leo answered, “Kinda bratty, but pretty fun too. I get why you hang out with her.”

Mikey smiled, glancing ahead. “Yeah… I think she’s really cool too. Her and Junior both. They’re really great.”

Leo held back a smirk. “Couldn’t agree more, _hermano_ ,” he said, putting a hand on his younger brother’s shoulder.

Ohhh yeah. Somewhere deep down, Mikey was crushing hard. And, given how good he usually was with feelings, it was only a matter of time until his youngest brother figured it out for himself. When that day came, Leo promised himself he would be right there with plenty of support and encouragement.

...Oh, and to say that he totally called it, of course.

**THE END**


End file.
